Design for fireplace objects

Tiffany Studios|Louis C. Tiffany

late 19th–early 20th century · Watercolor and graphite on off-white wove paper · The American Wing

This sketch for a fireplace screen and associated tools shows Tiffany experimenting with the rhythmic geometry prevalent in contemporaneous European designs, such as those of the Wiener Werstatte and those of Charles Rennie MacKintosh. While the planar forms are a departure from Tiffany's Art Nouveau designs, they reveal his continuous interest in luxurious beauty: the sheets of mica and the green-glass jewels would have shimmered within the dull brass framework. As the inscription notes, these pieces were made for a Mrs. Platt of Springfield , Massachusetts.

Artist

Tiffany Studios|Louis C. Tiffany

Date

late 19th–early 20th century

Medium

Watercolor and graphite on off-white wove paper

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Purchase, Walter Hoving and Julia T. Weld Gifts and Dodge Fund, 1967